ESSEC Appointments: The French Government, Bpifrance, Choiseul, La Redoute, Deezer, Puy-du-Fou and More

Leaders of major French and international companies, high-ranking officials in the public and charity sectors, as well as 3 alumni in the French Government, 2 in ESSEC management and 36 ranked by Choiseul! Our round-up of recent appointments within the ESSEC network. 

France’s new government boasts three alumni. Clara Chappaz (E12) has stepped down from the management of La French Tech, as she was approaching the end of her term, to become the State Secretary for Artificial Intelligence and Digitalisation, and chose  Pierre Bouillon (E09) as her Chief of Staff. The parliamentary deputy  Guillaume Kasbarian (E10) has moved from the role of Deputy Minister for Housing to that of Minister for the Civil Service, Simplification & Transformation of Public Action. Senator Sophie Primas (M87) has taken up the role of Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad. 

Fabien Versavau (EXEC MBA 13) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of La Redoute. He began his career in digital project management with Ford in the UK, followed by Renault in France, prior to moving into consulting with Weave, a subsidiary of Onepoint. He co-founded the interior design agency MyHomeDesign, which he later sold to Atelier Germain. The LeGuide group then made him their Vice-President Business Development EMEA. He then took up a similar role at SNCF Voyageurs, before subsequently becoming Chief Marketing Officer of Figaro, Chief Executive Officer of Ticketac and Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Rakuten France.  

Thomas Vandeville (E92) has been appointed CEO of Meilleurtaux, the leader in real estate brokerage. He began his career as an analyst with Exane and Merril Lynch, before moving into consulting with McKinsey & Company. He then joined Groupama, where he spent 10 years in various managerial roles at group level responsible for strategy, digital transformation, marketing and distribution, as well as heading various subsidiaries in France and Italy, including Gan Patrimoine and Amaline. He was then made Director of HSBC‘s personal banking and asset management. Prior to this most recent appointment, he was Deputy Director of CCF Banque.  

Steven Libermann (BBA 97) has been appointed CEO of Nomad Foods, Europe’s leading frozen food company. He began his career in international marketing at Nestlé and Bic, and was then made Managing Director of Senoble, before becoming an investment fund consultant. He then joined Nomad Foods, where he has spent 10 years in managerial positions in various European countries and regions. He also co-founded VWS – Vintage Watch Story, a website specialised in collector watches. 

Geoffroy Didier (E00) has been elected Deputy Chairman of the Île-de-France Regional Council. Also a graduate of Sciences Po Paris, Paris II Panthéon Assas, Columbia and Harvard universities, he began his career as a barrister in Paris and New York. He then joined various ministerial offices, notably that at the Home Office, before being successively elected to the Île-de-France Regional Council and the European Parliament, where he presided over the digital commission.  

Élizabeth Le Hot (M99) has been appointed Managing Director of Adami, one of France’s leading organisations for the collective management of performing artists’ rights. She is the first woman to hold this position. Also a graduate of ENA, she began her career as a consultant, and was then appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the French Ministry for Family, Childhood & Women’s Rights. This was followed by a transfer to the Ministry for Culture and the subsequent roles of Assistant Director for the Development of the Cultural Economy and Deputy Departmental Head to the Managing Director of Media & Cultural Industries. She also spent time in the private sector, as Managing Director of EverRose, the pioneer in cultural NFTs for monuments.  

Vincent Beaugrand (M95) has been appointed Managing Director of France Terre d'Asile, a non-profit organisation which supports and defends people seeking asylum in France. He began his career with KPMG and Expertel Consulting before becoming Head of Marketing for Orange. He then enrolled at ENA and spent time working for the Ministry for Health in the successive roles of transformation project manager, head of the primary care office of the general directorate for healthcare provision, and advisor to primary care and independent health professionals. He was next appointed director of the fund for the financing of the complementary protection of the Universal Health Cover. Prior to this most recent appointment, he was Managing Director of the French Students’ Health Foundation.  

Julien Chevignon (E02) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the polling, opinion polling and data analysis institute YouGov Europe. He began his career in merchandising with Carrefour in Singapore, then spent 10 years with Nielsen, rising to the position of Consumer Pricing & Portfolio Europe Region Manager. He moved to YouGov, where he successively managed France, Southern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, the UK and Switzerland.  

Christophe Salmon (M99) has been appointed General Manager of Haier France. He began his career with Unilever, holding various sales, marketing and operational roles. He then spent 20 years with Mattel, where he notably occupied the positions of Director France & Belgium and Vice-President France, Italy & Spain, while simultaneously acting as Secretary General to the Federation of French Toy & Childcare Article Manufacturers.   

Simon Baldeyrou (EXEC M06) has been appointed Managing Director of Phénix, the anti-food-waste scale-up founded by Jean Moreau (E07). He began his career in investment banking before managing projects for Sport Concept, a marketing service provider for professional sports clubs, and Sport Value, a finance & management agency specialised in the sports sector. He was then appointed Financial Director of the 2007 Rugby World Cup organisation committee. His next move was to the tech sector, in the successive roles of Deputy Director of Deezer, Director of Operations at Drivy and Managing Director of Getaround Europe.  

Stéphane Cicolella (E96) has been appointed Managing Director of Elmy, the French 100%-renewable energy company. Also a graduate of Science Po Paris, he spent more than 25 years with the Shell group, notably in the role of Energy Transition Manager in France, Global Head of offshore wind development in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and President of the Renewable Energy for France division. 

Julien Victor (E97) has been appointed CEO of Tennaxia, a publisher of SaaS software for HSE and ESG steering and management. He began his career with Deloitte before joining Effisosft, the specialist in regulatory compliance and reinsurance software, where he spent more than 20 years as Managing Director and oversaw the merger with Prima Solutions, followed by the sale of the company to Duck Creek Reinsurance.  

Cécile Mérine (EXEC PROG 17) has been appointed Managing Director of Witex, the BtoB intermediation platform for the European textile sector. She began her career in consulting, between Paris and London, before moving to Swiss Life France, where she spent 15 years and rose to the position of Director of Operations and Product Marketing. She then launched Otherwise Insurance, a pioneering start-up in crowd insurance, followed by BubbleIn, a solution to facilitate insurance brokers’ daily tasks. She went on to become a business consultant for various players in the insurance sector. 

Fanny Janicot (E11) has been appointed CEO of Lalalab, an application allowing individuals to print photos in a few clicks and which has been downloaded 13 million times worldwide. She began her career in marketing with Sarenza, where she rose to the position of Director Switzerland & the Netherlands. She was then successively appointed Marketing Director of Deliveroo France and BlaBlaCar. 

Marie Ameller (E16) has been appointed Deputy Director of the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine [Architecture & Heritage Museum], alongside its director Julien Bargeton (E96). She began her career with the Ministry for Culture, where she held the successive positions of Head of the Budget Summary and Chief of Staff to the managing director of artistic creation. She then moved to the Ministry for Education, Youth & Sports as an advisor in culture, memory, discourse and educational projects. She was next placed in charge of dissemination and reading for the Centre National du Livre [French Book Centre], before becoming a cultural advisor to the French Prime Minister.  

Sylvain Juillard (E14) has been appointed Deputy Director of Evoriel, a property services operator encompassing more than 200 agencies and 3 historical brands, with 3,100 employees and more than a million customers. He began his career with BNP Paribas and Société Générale prior to joining UBS France, where he held various roles including Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Management Board and Director of Strategy, Development & Organisation, as well as being a member of the Executive Board. He was then appointed M&A Director and to the governance of Oddo BHF. 

Alexandre Murati (E12) has been appointed Deputy Managing Director of Exaprobe, which generates an annual turnover of €157 million in France, the USA, Canada and Singapore with its on-site and cloud solutions for networks, security and communications. He began his career with the Boston Consulting Group, before joining Econocom, a European group guiding the digital transformation of businesses, initially as Transformation Director, and then as International Deputy Director.  

Alexia Chassagne (M01) has been appointed Deputy Director of Darégal, the world leader in frozen herbs. She began her marketing career in mass distribution, in the successive roles of Brand Manager for Sara Lee, European Male Grooming Director at Unilever, Marketing Director France at Eau Écarlate and International Senior Marketing Manager for Henkel in Germany. She then took over and relaunched Juste Pressé, a fresh fruit & veg juice company, before taking up the position of Chief Operating Officer of Fungu’it, a start-up offering an alternative to meat made from urban-farmed fermented mushrooms.  

Laura Zink (E09) has been appointed Deputy Director of Planity, France’s leading beauty care booking platform. Following initial experience in the luxury sector, she spent almost 5 years with Bain & Company. She was then recruited by Leboncoin, where she spent 10 years, rising from strategic and development management roles to the position of Chief Financial Officer.  

Alexandre Salem (E11) has been appointed Executive Vice-President MENA/APAC of Stillfront Group, a leading listed gaming company based in Stockholm. He began his career as an analyst with BNP Paribas before moving to Strategy&, a PWC subsidiary, in Dubai. He then joined King, a mobile phone game studio, and worked between London and Shanghai, holding various roles in business performance and advertising monetisation. His next move was to Google as Head of Gaming for YouTube Strategic Partnerships, followed by a similar role as EMEA Gaming Lead. Prior to this most recent appointment, he was Global Director of Gaming at Huawei.  

Carl de Place (E09) has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Deezer. He began his career in M&A at Citi, where he rose to the position of Vice-President Investment Banking before joining the streaming platform, initially as Vice-President Corporate Development. He also sits on the Administration Board of Driift Live, the live streaming leader. 

Olivier Regnard (E99) has been appointed Deputy Finance Director of Groupe Elsa, the private hospitalisation specialist in France. He previously spent 15 years with Deloitte, rising to the position of Finance Services Consulting Director. He then held the role of Financial Director successively for Groupe Latecoere, Mauna Kea Technologies, Europe Snacks and Solocal.  

Stéphanie De Luca (EXEC M19) has been appointed Administrative & Financial Director of RC Group, the leading merchandiser and event organiser for upmarket retail. She began her career in administrative roles at A2iA, the developer of a digital text recognition solution, which eventually merged with Mitek Solutions, the leader in identification technology and ID checking, where she was appointed Deputy Director of Finance and Auditing. She then became Chief Financial Officer and Compliance Officer at Bourbon Mobility, the specialist in offshore passenger transport.  

Cosette Liebgott (E10) has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Federation Studios France, a company notably renowned for having co-produced the hit series The Bureau and In Therapy. She began her career as an analyst with Warner Bros. Pictures in London and Paris, prior to moving to Cofiloisirs, where she rose to the position of Director for Film & TV Production Financing. She then became a member of the ‘Choc de Modernisation’ commission at the CNC [French Film & Animation Centre], before moving to Federation Studios, where she has spent the last 4 years in the successive roles of M&A and Business Development Director and Group Head of Productions. 

Jérôme de Chaunac (E94) has been appointed Chief Business Officer of Paris Basketball, the 2023-2024 French Championship finalist team. He boasts more than 20 years’ experience in the sports sector, including 10 years spent in the USA. He has held general management positions at IMG and Havas Sports & Entertainment, worked for brands such as NBA, FIFA, Adidas and Coca-Cola, and steered the Paris Saint-Germain Americas office in New York. 

Arnaud Lemaire (E15) has been appointed European Public Affairs Director at Groupe CAF, the low-carbon public transport operator. He will also continue in his current role as CAF France Director of Strategy & Institutional Relations. In this position, which he landed after a Master’s in Public & European Affairs at the Sorbonne and ENS, he has worked regularly alongside policymakers to boost the rail industry’s competitiveness and attractiveness and eliminate the hurdles to rail growth. 

Matthieu Heslouin (E94) has been appointed Executive Director of support activity at Bpifrance. He began his career with sales positions in the IT sector, initially at SGI, the high-performance computing specialist, followed by Dell, where he rose to the position of Alliances & Software Director. He then co-founded Wipolo, a travel organisation platform, which he later sold to ACCOR; VoulezVousDiner, a platform aimed at organising dinners between tourists and local inhabitants, and Digi4B, a strategic consultancy for digital transformation. He has been with Bpifrance for almost 8 years, and was Chief Digital Officer prior to this most recent appointment. 

Nizar Abdallaoui Maane (E13) has been appointed Investment Director for the Mohammed VI Foundation for investment. After working in consulting at BNP Paribas, he created the start-up Kifal Auto, a trusted partner for individuals and companies in the sale and purchase of used cars. He then merged this company with the Autochek Africa group, where he was appointed Senior Vice-President for French-speaking Africa. He also runs ESSEC Alumni’s Morocco Chapter. 

François-Xavier Taponat (E08) has been appointed HR Director of Puy-du-Fou. He began his career as research head with Ithaque Conseil, before moving into HR management roles at Castorama, KDI and Starbucks, followed by HR Director for Costco and the Bigard group.  

Céline Sannié (E09) has been appointed Deputy General Manager of La Cordée, a non-profit group founded by former ENA preparatory class members. The organisation acts for equal opportunities and social diversity in State services. Céline began her career with Terre d’Avance, a consultancy specialised in public policies for employment, vocational insertion and local economic development. She then moved to Enactus France, which supports young people’s social entrepreneurship projects, and held the successive roles of Director of Operations and Deputy Managing Director.  

Philippe Dariel (EXEC MBA 18) has been appointed Principal of Collège Stanislas, which takes in 3,500 pupils from preschool to high school level across campuses in Montreal and Quebec. A former PE teacher, he has spent almost 30 years in education. He opened a middle school in the depths of the Amazon forest, managed the ski section of the French High School for Mountain Professions in Savoie, and headed various teaching institutions, including the prestigious French High School in Pondicherry, India; a digital technology high school in France; an AEFA (Agency for French Education Abroad) high school, and the Mascareignes high school in Mauritius, where he notably developed international streams and training programmes for high-level athletes.
See also our profile feature 

Julien Malaurent (M09 & PHD 12) has been appointed Executive Vice-President of Groupe ESSEC in charge of lifelong learning programmes and corporate relations. He has spent his entire career in the School’s teaching and academic body, and previously held the position of Academic Director of METALAB, the research & training centre for data and artificial intelligence. He takes over from Professor Jérôme Barthélémy (E93). 

Yann Motte (E91) has been appointed Executive Director of ESSEC’s Leading a Scale-Up Chair. He began his career with BNP Paribas in Paris and Tokyo, prior to being appointed Vice-President of Product Management Europe at Yahoo! in London. He then founded Webjam, a networking solution for businesses. Following this entrepreneurial venture, he held the successive positions of Vice-President of NextRadioTV and Vice President Strategy & Business Development at TouchCommerce, Nuance Communications and Microsoft in Los Angeles. 

To finish, ESSEC alumni feature among a host of prestigious rankings. 

Forbes listed Quynh Tram Nguyen (E99), Managing Director of Microsoft Vietnam, among its 10 Next Generation Women CEOs in Vietnam. She has held various managerial positions throughout her career, at Vietnamobile, VSTV (joint venture between Vietnam Television VTV and the Canal Plus Group), the United Nations Development Programme, PayPal, Orange and Google.  

3 alumni feature in Choiseul’s ranking of 40 sports business figures paving the way after the Paris 2024 Games: Gaëlle Frizon de Lamotte (M02), founder of OLY Be, a contact platform for sports classes; Bertrand Picard (E05), founder of Natural Grass, which designs technical surfaces for sports facilities, and Magali Tézenas du Montcel (EXEC M09), Managing Director of Sporsora, a non-profit organisation which federates more than 280 players in the sport ecosystem.  

4 alumni feature in Choiseul’s 40 Under 40 ranking for healthcare innovation:  Axelle Ayad (M19), founder of Mapatho, a platform to help chronically ill patients get out of medical limbo; Emmanuel Bilbault (E10), co-founder of Posos, an AI solution to facilitate medical prescription; Julia Néel Biz (E12), co-founder with Nicolas Merlaud (E12) of Teale, a mental health platform for company employees, and Alexandre Guenoun (E16), founder of Kiro, which develops AI solutions for medical biology. 

29 alumni feature in the Choiseul City of the Future ranking which showcases 200 leaders under 40 set to play a key role in the emergence and co-building of the cities of the future: Amina Alem (E10), Asset Manager Real Estate at DWS Group; Grégoire Bailly-Salins (E13), Vice-President European Development & Transactions at Ofi Invest Real Estate; Laura Ben-Ibgui (IMHI 11), Director of Hotels & Hospitality France transactions at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group; Jérémie Benmoussa (E13), Deputy Director of the Axtom Group; Astrid Berger (E18), Deputy Director of Development at Léon Grosse Immobilier; Gad Botbol (M09), Head of Investments at Weinberg Capital Partners; Sébastien Cossu (M10), Co-Director of property acquisitions at Tikehau Capital; Ella Etienne-Denoy (E12), Director of ESG, business development and innovation for Continental Europe at CBRE France
; Éric Fintz (E16), Deputy Director in charge of operations and development for the Ikory group; Maxime Forgeot (E10), Founding CEO of F&A Asset Management; Maud Guerlain (E11), Deputy Director of Vattenfall France; Delphine Guibert (E09), Head of Development at Gecina; Géraud d’Huart (M10), Île-de-France Regional Manager at Eiffage Immobilier; Agnès Isbérie (E12), Acquisitions & Investment Director at Hines France; Marine Jannot (E10), Vice-President in charge of EMEA development and property for Club Med; Olivia Jarny (E09), Deputy Executive Director of Fibois Île-de-France; Émilie Jaskula (E07), Global Head of Offices
at AXA IM Real Assets; Jean-Maxime Jouis (E09), Managing Director of BNP Paribas REIM; Vincent Labesse (E10), Director of Controlling & Performance Management at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield; Laurent Le (E11), CEO of Aestiam; Vincent Le Rouzic (E13), Strategic Project & Innovation Manager at EpaMarne EpaFrance; Eliane Lugassy (E13), Founding CEO of Witco; Marvin Marciano (E16), Director at Stepling; Mai-Lan de Marcilly (E09), Managing Director and Head of Transactions France at KKR; Fabien Meyer (M22), Asset Management Director at ESR Europe; Alexis Mignonac (M13), Director of Property Investment France at Edmond de Rothschild REIM; Julien Morville (EXEC M13), co-founder of Sharies; Chloé Rayssac (M13), co-founder of Bazimo, and Sauvanne Saint-Léger (E19), Capital Raising and Investor Relations Manager at Daphni!

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